Bocce on the Beach!

Lay Day: Cayo Costa State Park, FL MM 23.0 Weather: High 80, low 60; SW wind 6-10 knots, calm in the morning and evening; mixture of sun and clouds, frequently overcast. Let the games begin! 1000 hours was the appointed time for the historic Bocce rematch between me and Bocce partner Dee (About Time) and Anna Marie and Lee (About Time). We met at the dinghy dock and took the tram to the beach where we established a Bocce area. Dee and I were victorious in 4 of the 6 games we played, making clutch shot after clutch shot. To say we dominated would be a very fair characterization. Between games, we enjoyed a picnic lunch in the pavilion, and following the final match, we set up camp on the beach to enjoy the rest of the day. Anna Marie and I arrived back aboard SUNSHINE, with 18 gallons of fresh water in our jugs. Anna Marie promptly siphoned it into SUNSHINE's water tanks.

A Beach Walk!

Lay Day: Cayo Costa State Park, FL MM 23.0 Weather: High 80, low 60; SW wind 6-13 knots, calm in the morning and evening; mixture of sun and clouds, overcast at times Comment: Cayo Costa is a great place. The beach is about 3 miles long and there is an inlet that is passable by wading. The shelling is outstanding! There are primitive campsites and rental cabins. According to the ranger, one can re-provision by taking the ferry boat. Access is by boat. You can't get here with a car. Our activities included a beach walk of about four miles and shelling. In the evening, we had dinner guests. We enjoyed the evening with Lee and Dee (About Time).

The Miserable Mile!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012 The Miserable Mile! From: Fort Myers Beach, FL MM 5.0 To: Cayo Costa, FL MM 23.0 Latt: 26 41 01N Long: 82 14 12W Weather: wind generally less than 5 knots; high 80, low 60, mostly sunny Comment: At 0800, we motored out of the FMB mooring field, bound for Cayp Costa. At the West Coast ICW MM 0, we entered the so called "Miserable Mile." it is a straight, narrow, exposed channel that is subject to strong cross currents and open to wind. The miserable mile has quite a reputation, but it this day, it was very benign. At times we were able to motor sail with the jib. The scenery is pretty along this stretch of the ICW. Useppa Island and Cabbage Key are particularly attractive and will Merritt a visit someday, just not today! By 1330 hours, the anchor was down and we were preparing SUNSHINE for a few days stay in Pelican Bay and Cayo Costa. Anna Marie and I went ashore for an exploratory peek at the cay. We plan to walk the length of the beach tomorrow.

Bocce!

Lay Day: Fort Meyers Beach, FL Weather: It's not cold anymore. People are walking the streets of FMB in bikinis! High in the high 70s, low near 60, SE wind 10-14 knots Comment: Dee and Lee invited us to play Bocce at the "old folks home" where they have a cottage and keep their boat. We met them under the bridge in FMB a few minutes before 0830. They whisked us off to Shell Point for Bocce on a groomed lawn that was equal to any putting green I've ever seen. The players were a delightful bunch. We played three terrific games in 11/2 hours. It was great! Following Bocce we were given a tour of the community by our hosts. Shell point has three distinct residential centers that house about 2400 people. The grounds are maintained in park like fashion. The amenities are outstanding. It really looks like a great upscale facility. We wish Dee and Lee much happiness there. Follow lunch, we returned to the dinghy dock. Before heading back to SUNSHINE, we took a walk to the main drag and headed south for several blocks. Along the way, we met our mooring neighbors who are cruising on a really nice, well maintained Endeavor 30 catamaran. Speaking of neighbors, a couple of balls away lies a Packet Cat. We've only ever seen two or three of them being used as cruisers. I've often thought they make a great boat for doing the ICW what with their twin diesels, short mast and nice accommodations.

Reunion!

Monday, February 13, 2012 Reunion! From: Naples, FL MM 32.5 To: Fort Myers Beach, FL MM 5.0 Latt: 26 27 34N Long: 081 56 97W Weather: Hey! It's cold outside! The morning temp was reported to be 39 degrees. On SUNSHINE, the inside temp was in the mid 50s. With 16 knots of wind, it felt plenty cold! The high reached 80+ in the "bubble." the actual high was probably in the mid to high 60s. Comments: Fort Meyers Beach here we come. We left the Naples mooring fields at about 0815 in 13 - 16 knots of wind out of the NE. Conditions just outside Gordon Pass were a bit confused. SUNSHINE rounded the outer mark and made a beeline toward shore to get into the lee of the land. Although we planned to sail, it was too cold to open the bubble. We chose to motors ail instead. We made good time. By 1330 hours, we were tied to Ball 12 in the Fort Meyers Beach mooring field. We walked around a bit before meeting up with Dee and Lee, friends we met in Marathon last year. We had a great reunion and made arrangements to play Bocce Ball with them tomorrow. Thanks for dinner Lee and Dee!

A Cold Front!

Saturday, February 12, 2012 Naples Concert Band Lay Day: Naples, FL MM 32.5 Weather: Cold! Low 50, high near 60; breezy mostly sunny but sometimes overcast Comments: the day started as most do, with breakfast in the cockpit. This morning was a bit different though, we had to use the heater! With it burning at full throttle, the cockpit temp warmed to a rather balmy 68 degrees. After tea and coffee, we went ashore for laundry detail. Once the machines did their work, we went back to SUNSHINE where we enjoyed a great salad for lunch. We returned to shore for the concert at the band shell in Cromier Park. The Naples Concert Band, an all volunteer band, was very good. We enjoyed their program and noted that the band is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. During the intermission, we walked to the grocery store for provisions. The walk was longer than I anticipated. We made it back to the concert for the final two selections. Following the Stars and Stripes March, the large crowd dispersed. Considering the cold weather, it was amazing to see so many people in attendance. Many of the concert goers looked as if they didn't know it was cold out. It seemed that we were the only two people in winter coats, and believe me, we needed them!

Naples Ashore!

Saturday, February 11, 2012 Naples Ashore! Lay Day: Naples, FL MM 32.5 Weather: a little bit of everything overcast, sun, and a lot of wind; high low 70s, low 50s Comments: So, Naples is an interesting town! The 5th Avenue District sported a huge car show. There were more Ferraris than cars in NJ car shows. In fact, there had to be hundreds of cars on display. It was incredible. The park Nextel door had a big art show with what appeared to be one hundred or so tents and all kinds of art and handicrafts for sale. We stopped walking for a few minutes to listen to country singer Rockie Lynne and his band. He thanked his fans for making one of his recordings (something about putting your lipstick on in the car) number 1! Who knew? He was entertaining and a pretty good guitar player too. From 5th Avenue, we walked to the 3rd Street historic section of town. There were more shops and restaurants. It's a shame we missed the Saturday morning Farmer's Market. It would have been nice to get some fresh veggies. We walked back to Crayton Cove to talk to the marina staff and then walked to the Tin City section of town. It's a funky place with shops and more eateries. Not at all upscale like Fifth Ave. our only purchases were coconut ice cream cones that we enjoyed while watching people come and go. We were back aboard SUNSHINE by 1600 hours, after having walked for three hours!